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This chapter examines aspects of aniconism among a broad variety of authors ranging from Presocratic philosophers to early Christian apologists. Despite differences in genre and context, overarching themes emerge. These themes reveal, in particular, that alongside the de facto existence of aniconic cults and monuments, aniconism was seen as typical of what could be termed ‘primitive’, as a form of otherness, not merely without but also within, that implicitly articulated notions regarding the self.

This chapter examines aspects of aniconism among a broad variety of authors ranging from Presocratic philosophers to early Christian apologists. Despite differences in genre and context, overarching themes emerge. These themes reveal, in particular, that alongside the de facto existence of aniconic cults and monuments, aniconism was seen as typical of what could be termed ‘primitive’, as a form of otherness, not merely without but also within, that implicitly articulated notions regarding the self.